RBSC Alberta

2012, Zeebrugge (BE)

Between two maritime extremes, on the edge of a Byland is a contemporary landscape. On the one side lies a container port with its inhuman scale generated by its activity. It is functioning day and night, a proof of economy. On the other side lies a marina. With its human scale and ergonomics, it’s a source of history and sophistication, a proof of culture. In this tension field lies the Royal Belgian Sailing Club.

“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail itself”
(John Rousmaniere)

The building is made with a sailors logic, leaving no excess. It makes optimal use of the conditions, steering itself accordingly. The unheated glass passage serves as an insulation layer (double skin and air) for the wooden core. It makes use of solar gains to heat up and trans ventilation for cooling and regulating the air quality though means of opening and/or closing windows. The wooden core is a heated space and makes use of a geothermal heat pump with floorheating, ventilation and heat recuperation. The combination and interaction of these two systems makes possible many different scenarios depending on the social and meteorological conditions. In this way the wooden core and surrounding glass passage encourages a dynamic use of the building. The user steers the building on a journey, exploring an ever changing landscape.

The intrinsic qualities and logic of the materials are not tamed but freed giving dimension to the architecture. The stacked laminated wooden beams are allowed to breath, expanding and subtracting. The materials are allowed to speak for themselves, giving extra expression to the building in the process, creating a dynamic building. This freedom means that the joints and details are very important, as it is here where one can create this freedom. The joints thus indirectly gives shape to the building.

A conscious choice of materials and joints brings together the building. The main materials are shells on the roof, concrete, glass, metal and wood and are all recyclable materials. All the wood used are FSC labelled. Rainwater is collected for the use in toilets, the earth for heating and cooling by means of geothermal heat pump, the sun for solar gain and ventilation by means of orientation and design, and the wind for electricity by means of wind turbines.

The on-going juridical struggle in realizing the wind turbines, and the opening of the club to the public, can be contributed to a visionary client and the social responsibility taken on-board by the sailors, in sharing their ideals, embodied in building. The building enters the landscape, and becomes part of it.

Between two maritime extremes, on the edge of a Byland is a contemporary landscape. On the one side lies a container port with its inhuman scale generated by its activity. It is functioning day and night, a proof of economy. On the other side lies a marina. With its human scale and ergonomics, it’s a source of history and sophistication, a proof of culture. In this tension field lies the Royal Belgian Sailing Club.

“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail itself”
(John Rousmaniere)

The building is made with a sailors logic, leaving no excess. It makes optimal use of the conditions, steering itself accordingly. The unheated glass passage serves as an insulation layer (double skin and air) for the wooden core. It makes use of solar gains to heat up and trans ventilation for cooling and regulating the air quality though means of opening and/or closing windows. The wooden core is a heated space and makes use of a geothermal heat pump with floorheating, ventilation and heat recuperation. The combination and interaction of these two systems makes possible many different scenarios depending on the social and meteorological conditions. In this way the wooden core and surrounding glass passage encourages a dynamic use of the building. The user steers the building on a journey, exploring an ever changing landscape.

The intrinsic qualities and logic of the materials are not tamed but freed giving dimension to the architecture. The stacked laminated wooden beams are allowed to breath, expanding and subtracting. The materials are allowed to speak for themselves, giving extra expression to the building in the process, creating a dynamic building. This freedom means that the joints and details are very important, as it is here where one can create this freedom. The joints thus indirectly gives shape to the building.

A conscious choice of materials and joints brings together the building. The main materials are shells on the roof, concrete, glass, metal and wood and are all recyclable materials. All the wood used are FSC labelled. Rainwater is collected for the use in toilets, the earth for heating and cooling by means of geothermal heat pump, the sun for solar gain and ventilation by means of orientation and design, and the wind for electricity by means of wind turbines.

The on-going juridical struggle in realizing the wind turbines, and the opening of the club to the public, can be contributed to a visionary client and the social responsibility taken on-board by the sailors, in sharing their ideals, embodied in building. The building enters the landscape, and becomes part of it.